QUEEN of NEW YORK

Olivia Palermo, the original influencer, on her extraordinary high-fashion life in the Big Apple

- INTERVIEW: LAURA CRAIK

It’s a testament to her genes and rigorous wellness routine that Olivia Palermo looks exactly as she did when we first met 15 years ago, at a Valentino dinner during Paris haute couture week. Bright-skinned, doe-eyed and sunny of disposition, she has a childlike quality to her, and in person she’s relaxed and friendly, throwing herself into our shoot with enthusiasm — not batting an eyelid as she strides confidently into the middle of a four-lane street to nail a shot and stopping traffic as car horns honk around her.

“I really love being a model,” she smiles when we settle down to talk. “I love being on set and shooting. It’s part of my foundation from when I started my career, and I love working with new photographers, production teams, hair and make-up. It all tells a story.”

Her own story is a riches-to-riches tale; a fairytale, if you like, although the f-word doesn’t do justice to the amount of work it takes to stay in the fashion game for as long as Olivia has. She first came to public attention in The City, an early reality TV show that aired between 2008 and 2010. Set in New York, it showcased Olivia's sense of style, which is quintessentially New York in that high/low way that’s so specific to the city’s denizens.

The show opened the door for her to launch a career as a stylist, model and brand ambassador: early clients included Tommy Hilfiger, Rochas and Piaget. She rapidly became a fixture on fashion’s international front rows, sandwiched between Dame Anna Wintour and Alexa Chung at Erdem shows in London, or chatting to Anna Dello Russo at Valentino’s show in Paris. Everyone wanted a piece of Olivia, an influencer before the word was really coined.

Like many of the “OG” influencers, Olivia doesn’t especially like the term. “I appreciate that,” she smiles, when I check how she prefers to be described.